All Thumbs, Many Left Feet
by mischief80
Summary: Harry has never been one to stick by the rules. And who better to know that than us? Then again, maybe if he had just been a little more law-abiding, things would have been a lot easier... H/G 'cause that's my favourite kind.
1. Red is Definitely a Weakness

Chapter 1

**  
Rothbard's law**

**Everyone specializes in his own area of weakness.**

...

You know all that stuff that Dumbledore used to adore talking about? Like love and enlightening visions and those sudden moments of illumination that seem to make you understand exactly why you are wherever you are and what your purpose in this life is? Well, turns out, those moments are very rare indeed. And when you try running after one, you're most definitely never going to catch it.

Which would explain why our hero was standing on the Burrow's front porch with his arm half-raised to knock, yet finding himself unable to do so.

Granted, he did disappear for six weeks at a stretch after what the Daily Prophet termed as the 'The Boy Who Lived, Lives Again' extravaganza and had now turned up at the Burrow unannounced, so it wasn't surprising that he was sweating profusely while the abovementioned arm kept hovering in mid-air for some twenty minutes, after which he decided to just save the embarrassment and leave.

Oh, but oh. This hero isn't all that lucky.

And when door swung open to reveal Mrs. Weasley, flour on cheeks and wand in hand, and shouting "Harry, my boy! Where have you been?" in a heartwarming motherly fashion, he supposed that that was the most welcoming sight he had seen all month.

And when she enveloped him in a bone-crushing bear hug, he was almost on the verge of tears. "Come on in, Harry," she sniffed. "We've all been expecting you."

And that was how Harry James Potter, even though all his instincts were yelling at him not to, entered the Weasley household, completely unprepared to face the tornado that he knew would descend once Ron, Hermione, or worse, Ginny came face to face with him.

"Harry!" was the first thing he heard, before his vision was compensated by numerous read-headed bodies (which he later found out were Ron, George and Percy) and a distinct mass of untamable brown curls that clouded him entirely. "You're finally here! We thought you might never turn up," Hermione exclaimed, her face glowing with a toothy smile. As was Ron's, who dipped his head in recognition while grinning wide at him.

OK. Wait. This was unexpected.

"You're not angry with me?" he blurted, flabbergasted, to which George replied "Yeah, we're pretty much fuming. Can't you see? If I were you, I'd sleep with one eye open."

So that wasn't the usual biting humour that George exercised, but at least he was working on it. That realization made his head spin with guilt.

"I'm sorry," he said earnestly. "I really am. I just... I needed time, you know. To think. Or whatever."

_Or whatever_. Good one, Potter.

"It's OK," Ron smiled warmly. "You're back."

_Yeah..._ If only-

"MUM!"

Merlin's pants, he knew that voice. Of course he knew that voice. The memories of that voice and its owner, and the sweeter recollections of the pair of lips used to carry forth that voice were some of the few things that had kept him reasonably sane over the last year.

He heard each of her footsteps loud and clear. Maybe he was imagining things, but had the house, the Weasley household that is, suddenly gone distinctly silent, save for her light steps?

And then that stopped too.

"So you managed to find your way back, huh?"

"Ginevra," her mother hissed.

_Thank you, Mrs. Weasley_.

Emboldened, he turned around, almost bracing himself for attack, and what he saw at the kitchen door nearly took his breath away. Ginny, in casual jeans and boots, her form rigid as she clutched her broom tightly in one hand and a fierce look in her chocolate eyes, her hair windswept and spread around her shoulders. _A copper aura._

"Yeah, I guess I did," was his tentative response.

And Harry could have sworn that as he gazed at her, for a moment, and just a moment, he saw her face soften. Like it always had when she saw him. When he used to reach out from behind and pull her into a broom cupboard when she wasn't looking. When he used to drag her to the lake for a well-deserved snogging session. Or when he'd just look at her, something he had always enjoyed doing... So maybe there was hope after all.

_Or maybe not_. For Ginny never caved in first. And when her mouth flattened into a thin line again and she gave him a look of pure disgust, he figured, _Hey, at least she hasn't cursed me yet._

"I'm going upstairs. Good to see you, Harry."

Awkward silence hung again as everyone tried make the best of the situation. Mrs. Weasley was stirring the onion soup, George and Percy went back to their abandoned game of chess, Ron was inspecting his fingernails and Hermione, damn her, was smirking. This was turning out to be quite a fun trip.

"Want something to eat, Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked, almost in a whisper.

"Yes," he replied without even thinking.

Though food wasn't what he really wanted.

***

**A/N --- I L.O.V.E H/G... Especially a fiesty!Ginny and confused!Harry.**

**So I'm aiming for weird sexual tension here, but that probably won't come off till I get more into the plot.**

**And this is my first shot at fan fiction, I usually spend my time in a universe that's my own...**

**And what do we say? Read&Review :)**


	2. Answers? What Answers?

Chapter 2

**Wiener's Law **

**There are no answers, only cross-references**

...

Just when he had thought that things couldn't get any more awkward, he had to go and do _that_.

It's not like he had planned the event, and despite his protests that it was just an accident and that he didn't see anything, Ginny wouldn't really believe that he had just happened to 'bump into her'.

He _had_ seen her go into the bathroom, but that was about a half hour before he entered, and they hadn't been going out long enough for him to know exactly how much time she usually spent showering. Though, with all respect, he should have.

Also, he did see. A little.

"I... Um..." he stammered. "I... I'm sorry. Ginny."

He knew it was rude to stare, but he did it anyway. How could he not, really? She was wrapped in a monstrous towel, but the fabric clung to her and Harry's mouth went dry at the realization. Her skin was a pale pink from the heat and her long mane was tied in a messy knot. He could actually see the rogue droplets on her shoulders...

Her _bare_ shoulders.

_Look up, Potter. LOOK UP!_

"Harry?"

He tore his gaze back to her face, and to his surprise, she was smiling softly. Almost... shyly?

"Yeah?" he asked suspiciously. She never did shy.

And he was right: with a blink the dragon switched back into full-heat mode.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

Before she could reach for her wand, he had broken into a run, but the screeches of "Pervert!" and "No sense of respect" and "Just keeps STANDING there and GAWKING!" were still ringing in his ears as he skipped showering entirely and got dressed.

***

Breakfast was an equally uncomfortable affair, with numerous ginger-haired siblings throwing murderous looks at him and Hermione still grinning. Only when Mr. Weasley murmured something about a situation involving Ron and Hermione (that made Ron choke on his toast hard enough to quit cursing under his breath at Harry) did the conversation steer to matters that did not involve him.

Despite the ensuing laughter, he couldn't help noticing that Ginny's chair was still empty. Truth was, he was looking for some time alone with Ginny and if the only way he was going to get that was by initiating an apology, then so be it.

***

If there was one thing that Harry had learned and learned hard over all those years of fighting dark wizards, it was that nothing ever goes according to plan. Ever. He was looking for Ginny, when Ron and Hermione showed up.

"Look, mate," Ron started, as they stepped outside for a walk. "I don't want to intrude into your delicate sensibilities, but maybe you could tell us, your best friends, people who care for you and love you, where in the name of Merlin's arse have you been?!"

There it was.

He wanted to answer Ron, he really did. He just didn't know what had pushed him into going away in the first place. And it didn't help when Hermione kicked in with the Harry-Potter-Guilt-Drive too. "We figured you might have wanted to be alone, so we just didn't look for you. But you could have dropped a line once in a while, you know."

"Yeah," continued Ron. "Like 'Hi Ron, how are you coping?' or 'Have your parents memories been sorted yet, Hermione?'"

OK, now that just stung.

"I know her parents are back fine," Harry said heatedly. "I visited them a week ago. And yes, I asked them not to tell you I did," her added at the look on her face. "Give me some credit, guys."

Neither of them said anything for a while and that was when Harry looked away and saw a tiny figure on a broomstick a few hundred yards away. A tiny figure with bright red hair.

"Sorry," Hermione said slowly, following his gaze without making it obvious to Ron. "I _begged_ Ron not to bring it up but... Harry, we just really missed you."

And that was what struck Harry so sharply that he almost fell backward. Recovering quickly, he grabbed both Ron and Hermione into a fierce bear hug, glad that both of them held on just as tightly as he did. He could feel teardrops fall on his neck and wondering if they were his own, he let go. Within seconds they were laughing and hugging again.

"Ron," he started with a smile. "Are you pissed with me by any chance?"

Ron laughed harder. "For treating Ginny like scum? Sort of... But you'll do the right thing. You always do the right thing. And I'm guessing that's the problem with you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" So he did what was noble once in a while. He should be up on some Best Friend Hall of Fame for that, considering that he had broken off the one of the few things that had given him a sliver of hope just to keep Ginny safe.

"Watch it," Hermione glared at Ron (Harry couldn't help noticing that it was softer glare than any that Hermione had thrown towards Ron). "It means we have to go now. Oh, and Harry? The broom shed's that way."

***

**A/N --- Coz I really felt the Trio needed moment :)**

**And more on the sexual tension :D**


	3. Score! Or Something to that Effect

Chapter 3

**Zeno's paradoxes**

**You will never reach point B from point A as you must always get half-way there, and half of the half, and half of that half, and so on...**

...

She may have been Gryffindor's prized Chaser, but she was a brilliant Seeker in her own right. Which could explain how, by the time Harry reached the grounds, she had already descended and was waiting.

Willing his heart to stop hammering so quickly, he made his way to her, all the while wiping his hands in his pockets. When he finally reached her (since when did scaling twenty yards take so long?) he completely forgot what he had wanted to say. So he settled for a tentative, and very lame, "Hey."

"Hey."

"Yeah... Hi."

"I think we're done with the greetings."

_Ginny - 1, You - 0_

"Right. So... How's everything going?"

"Could be better. Not complaining though."

"Good. Glad to hear that."

Eerie, awkward, stretching silence.

_Say something. Say ANYTHING!_

"Uh. Your shoelace is undone."

_Good one. Now slowly turn around. And bolt._

"Oh, thanks." She bent forward to fix her shoes, and the resulting ten seconds of stillness were almost torturous. He knew what he had to say. Of course he knew. He had been practicing this moment in his head ever since he broke it off all those months ago. Provided he lived through it. And now that he had, another battle to the death with any dark wizard appeared easier than this.

"Hello? Earth to Potter," came her voice, with a slight touch of laughter. That was what he liked best in her, the ability to infuse levity into any situation. It had kept him on a pedestal for most of the time that he had been with her.

"I'm still here," he replied back, smiling slightly.

That did it. Her lips tilted upwards just so, but enough for him to know that he could still get the ball into his court. _Keep them laughing_, Ron had said once. Ron may not be the appropriate person to take romance tips from, but that was all he had right now.

"How was your trip?" asked Ginny casually.

_Ouch_.

"It was all right. Just roamed around, trying to talk to people who needed it."

"We needed it too, you know. The talks. With you."

_Ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch_.

"I needed to sort some things out for myself too."

Ginny made this curious humming noise that could have either been the seal of approval or a snort of repulsion. He didn't want to be too hopeful though.

"I wanted to be there for the other funerals too."

More humming.

"And I had to get through with some legal work, things that had to be handled discreetly."

Hum.

"Then there was the Daily Prophet reporter flood. I couldn't stand that."

HUM.

That pushed him off the edge. Muttering a string of curses loud enough for Ginny to hear, he fairly yelled at her, "Look, I don't need this right now, all right? I have enough going on without being forced to feel guilty for every real and imagined mistake I have ever made and I'm not going to just sit around here expecting you or anyone else to accept my-"

"Why did you really leave?"

Harry looked up at her. Big mistake.

Hey large eyes spoke volumes of hurt and besides making him feel like a complete prick, it made him more determined to fix everything. Isn't that why he had originally left? To sort out his issues, mentally flog himself till he felt the pain of those who had lost and figure out how to drift back to normalcy. Of course, he didn't expect to do it alone, but the weight of it all had finally sent him running. And after years of being incapacitated with the freedom to run, it was the only thing that showed some hope. Go away and think. Easy and simple. No hassle.

And as he gazed at her, it hit him. Maybe he just needed the smaller things - a handful of friends, a little amusement, a family to be a part of, good food, a parental figure and... a girl.

But he couldn't tell her that. Not when what he had gone looking for was just within reach. He may not have all the answers he needed, but he had his pride. Or something like that. He knew what he had to tell her though.

"I dunno, Ginny. But I'm back."

_Don't hum. Don't hum. Don't HUM!_

"We'll see."

_Oh, thank God._

The relief must have shown, for she smiled widely and asked, "Sit with me for a while, Harry?"

Blundering fool that he was, a fool who had fallen in deep, Harry said yes.

***

**A/N --- A cute H/G scene I had always pictured in my head ever since I got done with Deathly Hallow... And it's finally on paper! Or digital print. Whatever :P**


	4. Strip Me of My Dignity

Chapter 4

**Newcomb's paradox**

**How do you play a game against an omniscient opponent?**

...

"Hey, I have a question."

Three identical heads looked up at Harry, almost startling him. Of all places to go to, he had landed up here for a few kind words of advice.

"Fire away," said Bill, as he nimbly lifted off on his Comet, Harry, Ron and Charlie following suit. _A long deserved break_, Harry thought as he picked up speed. He looked over at Ron, who gestured towards the woods. They took off instantly, racing towards the lake beyond the forest, each trying to overtake the other. They returned back to Bill and Charlie, both of whom looked vaguely annoyed.

"You were saying something, Harry?" Bill glanced at him questioningly. Harry looked over his shoulder to catch Ron balancing himself on his broom on one foot, deep in discussion with Charlie over the Cannons' latest defeat. He turned back to Bill swiftly. "I need help with something."

"I can guess." _Dammit!_

"I thought as much. Can we keep this between ourselves?"

Bill scratched his chin and gave a look of deep contemplation. Then he replied, "No."

_Huh?! _"No?"

"No," Bill grinned and bellowed, "OK, people who call themselves siblings of Ginny Weasley, please line up here!"

_Oh, crap._

Harry pulled a face as the others flew closer, looking too calm and collected when they knew what was expected to unravel. That could either mean that they had talked about it to each other before and had decided to pretend to look unperturbed, or that they were already scheming over how to get him alone and kick him senseless.

"Ah, girls," sighed Ron. "The things we have to give up for them."

Charlie guffawed. "And this is from the same person who pretty much spent his entire summer an inch behind Hermione's heels."

"I didn't say I minded it!" replied Ron hotly, going scarlet.

"Of course you don't."

"Well, don't come crying to me when you finally find a girl and can't handle it."

"Trust me, I won't"

"All right, children," came Bill's voice. "Can we be more mature about this?"

Harry had had enough. "I know I screwed up."

"Really, now?" Harry heard Ron mutter, but chose to ignore him.

"I'd rather that we refrained from talking about how big a jerk I am and get on with trying to untangle myself from this mess."

"So what you're trying to say," said Charlie, almost deadpan, "Is that Ginny is, in simpler terms, a 'mess'?"

_You have a broom! Just fly away!_

Harry grimaced and looked over to Ron for help, who was staring quite decidedly at a hilltop on the horizon. What happened to 'you'll do the right thing'? Wasn't this an apt time for a redelivery of that sodding speech?

But Ron kept looking away, so Harry took a shot, "No, I just... Well, I wanted to know... That is, to say... Why are they so difficult?" he finished lamely.

Bill cracked a smirk as he replied, "Beats me. I adore mine."

"As a brother, I should say that Ginny is a gem," came Charlie's broken voice as he zipped back and forth along the small stretch of the lawn. " But as member of this family, all I can say is that the Weasley women are just barking mad."

Ron quipped, not to be left out, "And as a man, I would like to add that all of them are."

"A man?!" Charlie coughed.

"A man," Ron assured him.

They flew about all afternoon, returning only when Mrs. Weasley sent up a shower of red sparks as an indication that they better move to the house for supper before they were cursed into the next week.

"Why do we even need them?" asked Harry as he and Ron put away the brooms. "They're... so hard to figure out."

Ron lips curled into a secretive smile, one Harry noticed frequently on his face and found greatly nauseating.

"Yeah," he sighed. "But we love them anyway."

***

Hermione was curled up on the couch in the living room when Harry found her, her head hidden behind a massive volume of the latest Arithmancy theories that Harry rarely (OK, never) cared about. He went over and sat on the ottoman next to her, giving her a small wave. Then another. And another.

_What the hell?_

"HERMIONE!"

The said Hermione turned to him lazily and blinked. Suddenly she sat up, flushing, and said, "Oh, hello Harry. I didn't notice you there."

"Of course you didn't," grinned Harry, biting into an apple he had nicked from the kitchen.

"Goodness! I'm sorry about that. My head is just everywhere nowadays."

"Don't worry about it." He dropped his voice to a whisper. "I need some... assistance."

"On how to woo Ginny?" she shot back.

"Woo her? Who says that anymore?"

"Apparently, I do," Hermione said wearily as she shut her book close (it had started narrating something in a language he didn't know) and pressed the balls of her palms on her eyelids. "I think I might need some help too, Harry."

_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!_

"Don't say that! You're Hermione! If you start looking for help, us mortals are doomed!"

Hermione shot a venomous look at him. "Whatever. Close the door on your way out," she hissed.

_Oops._

Armed with his killer charm (Again, HAHAHA!) he said carefully, "OK, fine. I'm sorry. Will you help me now, please?"

She sighed. _Bingo!_

"Do something different."

"Wha-?"

"I mean," she cut in quickly. "So something you don't usually do. And make sure it's something romantic."

_Again: What?_

"Look," she said, practically reading his mind. "Ginny is very spirited. And a bit random, you know that. She'll probably expect you to do something completely out of context."

"OK," said Harry, grasping the idea. "So I do something unexpected?"

"And romantic," she clarified.

"And romantic. You think she'll fall for it?"

Hermione sighed again. "I hope she does."

Sensing that she needed to be left alone, he stood up and thanked her.

"Don't mention it, Harry," she waved off, struggling to pick up her book again. Harry would have helped, but lending her a hand in her moody state of mind would have been the ultimate insult. So he chose to walk to the door nonchalantly, away from her grasp.

Then it hit him.

"Hermione?"

"Hmm?"

"Should I tell Ron about... the 'doing something unexpected and romantic' thing?"

"Yes, Harry, please do."

***

**A/N --- Not many fanfics I've read focus well on Harry and Hermione's relationship, which I personally think is very heartwarming and sweet. So I decided to give it a shot.**

**-Over and Out-**


	5. Something Different? You Got It

Chapter 5

**Murphy's law**

**If anything can go wrong, it will.**

...

_"Silver..."_

_" ...Silver lining..." _

_" ...Remember me by."_

_Soft, wavy crimson locks skim his face as he reaches out for the figure clad in an almost-virginal cream nightgown. Every time he lunges to make a grab for her, she just slips out of his grasp._

_She looks back at him, her eyes glinting mischievously, laughing wildly. She halts suddenly in her tracks and beckons him to come closer. He walks to her and reaches out to caress her cheek, pulling her into his embrace. Her warm breath on his mouth spurs him on as he dips his head to-_

_"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"_

_..._

Harry woke up with a snap of his neck and found himself covered with a sheen of sweat, his chest was heaving with every breath he took.

Oh, my God.

And also... Wow!

His first instinct made him check his bed for any telltale signs (the bedding had been almost completely kicked aside) and then he looked over at Ron, who was slumbering away to glory. So he fell back on his pillows and drew out a long sigh.

"What?" came a drowsy voice, forcing Harry to sit back up again.

"'S nothing, Ron. Go back to Hermione," Harry whispered.

"Yeah... She must be waiting for me..." And Ron was dead to the world again.

Harry groaned, _I need a drink. _So he found himself slipping out of bed, shrugging into his dressing gown and carefully creeping out of the room. He took the stairs two at a time and finally landed in the living room.

He had already started towards the kitchen when he heard a low thud of something dropping. Armed almost immediately, he made his way to the kitchen doorway quietly, mingling with the shadows. He lifted his wand with the intent to fight, pushed the door swiftly and roared, "Show yourself."

It should have registered when all the heard was a squeak and suddenly found himself covered in a thin layer of some powdery substance.

A decidedly feminine squeak.

"Bloody hell! Harry, I'm so sorry!"

"Gin?" voiced Harry aloud, not yet sure whether he should put away his wand.

"Yeah, Potter, it's me. Get that thing out of my face," she glared at him, but not, he couldn't help noticing, without a twinkle in her eye.

"Sorry," he grunted, heat creeping up his face, and stuffed his wand into his dressing gown. "What are you doing here?"

"Cooking," she said, dusting herself of whatever she had managed to get all over the kitchen, herself and him.

_Cooking?_

"Yes, Harry," came her exasperated voice. "Cooking."

OK, that was happening too frequently.

"Cooking what?"

"Umm," she faltered, glancing at Harry who was Scourgifying his clothes. "Not cooking exactly..."

"Right," he grinned. "What _exactly_ were you doing then? You definitely weren't waiting around to ambush me."

She grinned saucily, "What if I was?"

"You weren't," he bantered, approaching her with caution. You never know when she'd morph back into that Weasley version of a Horntail.

"Oh, I was," Ginny laughed, and, of course, his insides turned into mush.

They lapsed into silence as Ginny cleared some dishes off the counter top and extracted two mugs from a cabinet. Harry, quite content, just sat back and watched her.

"Hot chocolate?" she asked. His stomach growled in response.

She gave another tinkering laugh and Harry was forced to lift his cup and drink, to prevent his traitorous mouth from saying anything stupid. Ergo, he swallowed too much, too fast, and started choking.

Ginny rammed her fist on his back, smirking slightly. When he was finally done with his coughing fit, and resurfaced as red as a beet, she went, "How is it?"

"Huh?" 'Cause, really, when your lungs are straining for air and the being that caused that to happen is sitting so close to you, it's virtually impossible to process anything else.

"How's the chocolate?"

_Oh. Right._

"It's good."

"Well, that's good. I'm an excellent cook."

He spluttered again, this time with laughter. "You had to mix chocolate powder with milk. Even Arnold could have done that!"

Ginny wasn't amused. "For your kind information," she muttered. "It takes more than that. I had to boil the milk first."

"I bow to the Queen," he bent slightly in acknowledgement.

She gave a short laugh and proceeded to wipe any traces of a chocolate-milk moustache (which he had found very endearing), gathered their mugs and started washing them. He lifted himself off the stool and reached her side. Picking up a rag cloth, he began wiping the mugs she had washed.

"So, Gin," he started.

"You're sorry," she said simply, without looking at him.

_Not again._

"Yeah, I'm sorry." And he meant it.

"I still don't know why you left," came her voice, laced with a sadness he usually didn't hear in her, causing his heart to clench tightly. He knew he owed her answers, but how could he when he didn't know what was going on himself?

"I don't know either, I already said-"

"Don't give me that crap," she turned to him with that blazing look he had always admired. That is, whenever it wasn't directed at him in fury.

"Look, I told you, I just wanted out-"

"Well, we wanted out too, Harry!" she yelled. Though, of course, she couldn't yell as the entire house was asleep. So she whispered it harshly, which made him feel like a tool anyway. "Mum was so upset you left after the funeral. She actually thought you were blaming yourself for Fred!"

"Of course I'm blaming myself!" he shot back.

"Well, you shouldn't, OK?! We were all there too and we couldn't save him. Ron almost flogged himself to death when you didn't turn up soon enough. And if wasn't for Hermione, he'd probably still be locked up in his room with that ghastly ghoul."

"Gin-"

"And then there's George. I swear, he was just so lost, Harry. And we couldn't even do anything about it. We were all lost too!"

"I..." he stammered. "Ginny... Gin, I... I didn't know..."

"Obviously, you didn't know! You weren't even here!"

"And what about you, Gin?" he spat, enraged. It wasn't like he had left on purpose, he had just needed time. Like her own family had. Hadn't they lulled back into apparent normalcy since he had departed?

"What about me?" she asked in a suspicious tone.

_Go for it._

"Did _you_ miss me at all?"

She gawked at him for a few seconds and then with a roll of her eyes, she said, "No."

"No?"

"No, Harry," she replied, sounding wearied. "I didn't miss you. And you know why? 'Cause I had to be here for my family, to keep us from falling apart, not pining after someone who left."

That struck Harry faster than any Killing Curse could, and left him momentarily stunned. He didn't know it had cut so deep.

But all the while, despite the fact that she was mad at him, he couldn't help noticing the smaller things. How her eyes glowed with blinding emotion when she challenged him. How her arms moved about so aggressively. How beautiful she looked even as she was plotting his demise.

_"Do something different."_

Are you serious?

_Uhh... Yes._

Like what?

_Kiss her!_

What's so different about that??

_Fine, your choice, Potter. Tell her that you love her or something._

That I- what?

Oh. Wait.

As the multiple facets of his personality battled it out, Harry had eyes only for Ginny. And as he reached out for her and wrapped his arms around her waist, delighted that she didn't resist (much), he was overcome by the need to kiss her. Except that he had to tell her something.

"Gin?" he whispered.

"Yeah?" she whispered back, tilting her head to see him clearly.

"I..."

She moved closer and Harry could feel every part of her pressed up against him. It wasn't that hard, considering they were clad in a thin layer of night clothes and nothing much else.

And, his aforementioned traitorous mouth opened, almost without his approval.

"I love you."

***

**A/N --- Just to prove Harry is really a boy, and not yet a man entirely. And all boys have pseudo-wet dreams, right?**

**And I always pictured Ginny was the chocolate type. Hence you get a reasonably fluffy version of a carelessly orchestrated account of a kitchen romance triggered by the ever-faithful mug of hot chocolate :D**


	6. Our Hero Still Doesn't Get It

Chapter 6

**Edgeworth paradox**

**With capacity constraints, there may not be an equilibrium.**

...

"I love you."

And he dipped his head to kiss her.

He imagined it as it would have happened in his dream. Not as explicit, of course, but pretty darn good in its own way. She'd slip her arms around his neck and nudge his head lower and he would take that as a hint to press his lips more firmly on hers, kissing her like that was all he was meant to do. Encouraged, she'd boldly probe him with her tongue and he'd pull back slightly and laugh, meeting again almost instantly for a hot, open-mouthed kiss. She'd push him back against the sink and lean onto him, making him heady with her flowery perfume.

Then overcome by a sudden need to move this elsewhere, he'd push move her backwards till she was wedged tightly between him and the counter, kissing her with a ferocity he didn't know he possessed, prompted only by her soft mewls and the passion with which she was kissing him back. Lifting her, he'd place her on the counter and gather her closer, she wrapping her legs around his waist. He'd move lower, laying soft kisses on her neck as she lightly scratched his back with her nails.

And then one thing would lead to another, and within the hour, they'd look completely disheveled and happy, moving to the their respective rooms not because they wanted to, but to escape her mother who would be up any moment. He'd be a gentlemen (disregarding the earlier sixty minutes) and drop her at her door, even though she'd refuse, and drag her towards him for one last kiss. Then he'd practically skip off to his own room and slip under the covers, falling into dreams of bright red hair and soft creamy skin.

Wow... just thinking about it made his heart beat a fast, erratic rhythm.

Of course, the gesture was very romantic, in his opinion. Doesn't every girl want to be told that someone loves her?

But again, like for most cases, not Ginny.

So just as he was making a beeline for her mouth, she pulled back so swiftly that Harry was almost knocked over backwards.

"WHAT?!" she fairly screamed, swatting his hands away.

"What?" echoed Harry feebly. What did he do wrong now?

"What did you say?"

"What did you hear?" asked Harry cheekily, in a bid to salvage anything that was left of the situation.

"Harry! That's... it's just..." Ginny faltered, and Harry swooped in.

"C'mon, Gin. It's spontaneous. And romantic."

She looked at him with an incredulous expression that pretty much seemed to say, 'Are you for REAL?'

"It's not romantic, Harry."

"It's not?" he asked, surprised. This was what Hermione told him, right? To be different... Whatever the hell that meant.

_Whatever the hell that meant?_

_Oh, crap._

"Look," she gushed, red in the face, not dissimilar to his own. "This was a very sweet, not to mention, very random, expression on your part. But don't you think..." she trailed off, looking everywhere but in his general direction.

"Don't I think what?" he pressed on, practically dying inside.

She groaned and added, "That it's too soon?"

"What's too soon?" Really, he wasn't getting it. Except that the almost-kiss was definitely not going to progress to a full-fledged one anytime soon.

"This!" Ginny exclaimed, sounding annoyed now. "Saying that you love me? Harry, I don't see you for months together, you die and mysteriously come back to life, people I know DO die and then you disappear again for weeks to find your inner self or whatever, and you expect me to just fall in your arms and declare my unfaltering love for you?"

_Yeah. Is that too much to expect right now?_

"It's just... too much to expect right now," she continued, looking at his feet.

_DAMMIT! What happened to freedom of thought?!_

"OK, so you want time to consider this?" He knew he shouldn't have said that, but he said it anyway.

"Excuse me?"

"Do you-"

"No, I don't want time! I, like you said, just want out. Out of this botched up nonsense."

"I'm not botched up, Ginny," cut Harry, holding back himself from killing her.

"Are you kidding me?!" Ginny flashed a maniacal laugh. "Look at yourself! You don't know why you are here, you don't even know if you want me. All that you see is that I'm convenient. You don't even KNOW if you love me!"

"I don't see you as convenient!" bellowed Harry, "If you really thought I saw you that way, you wouldn't have responded to me at all, let alone let me kiss you. Give me some credit, I'm not that thick."

"Yeah, I wouldn't know now, would I? You haven't been around long enough for me to judge that."

_That. Hurt. Bad._

And he shot back, "What do you want from me? I'm here right now, NOT running away, telling you that I love you. Can't you just take it at pointblank and trust me?"

He regretted it the moment he said it, for why should she trust him anyway? Despite the fact that he did everything he had done for her own good, it didn't escape him that trust was the one thing he couldn't guarantee. Not because he didn't have the potential to offer trust, but because he had let her down too many times, too often to go back to what it used to be. It seeped like poison, this lack of sincerity he had always practiced: into him, around him, and the worst part of all, into her. That thought made his chest tighten. Ginny deserved certainty, the responsibility that came with being in a relationship. Not the constant disappointments, just the honesty. And he wanted, more than anything, to make her trust him. Whatever it took.

"I will wait, Gin."

Her bloodshot eyes threw daggers at him with such force that he felt the need to step away from her.

"You still don't get it, do you?" she spat out.

She didn't wait for a reply; with a quick spin on her heels, she was gone, and Harry was left alone (and barefoot) on the cold kitchen tile with his thoughts and the wet dish rag.

He performed a drying spell on the cloth, set it on the counter and made his way to Ron's room, all the while thinking of what Ginny had said.

_"You still don't get it, do you?"_

What's there to get?!

_You're asking me? I'm just your crappy conscience; don't expect me to fathom the inner working of a bird's mind._

Harry decided to ignore that. He had no idea what he was going to do with the mess he had created, but one thing was for sure: Hermione was going to get quite a earful tomorrow.

***

**A/N --- Hey if Harry didn't screw up, it wouldn't be that fun to write or read.**

**And I'll confess: the almost-kissing scene was a figment of my imagination that developed from reading too many romance novels. Is it possible to get addicted to those?? Lemme know!**


	7. Rapture is Underrated

Chapter 7

**Paradox of value**

**Water is more useful than diamonds, yet is a lot cheaper**.

...

_Amazing._

That was Harry's first thought when he saw Ted Lupin. The infant looked startlingly like his father, even with devilishly purple eyes, a green mohawk and pixie ears. He attempted to lift him from his cradle but withdrew when he sneezed, an adorable little noise that gave Harry immense satisfaction.

"He's beautiful," Harry voiced aloud, not realizing that someone had entered the room.

"He is, isn't he?" came Andromeda Tonks' voice from behind him. He turned and saw her approach him with a tray filled with pastries and a glass of pumpkin juice.

"Yeah, he is," he whispered to himself, looking at Teddy, who was completely bald now.

When Harry had first landed up at Andromeda's door, he had been heavily conflicted - he had no sodding clue about what being a godfather entailed. He didn't even have a proper parent to guide him (setting aside the Dursleys, who weren't the friendliest of creatures). Besides, he hadn't visited Teddy for ages now, and he was quite sure he wouldn't be recognized.

Maybe Ginny was right. There were people here, people he cared about, who needed him more than he needed himself. To think, if he had been away any longer, he might have lost these people entirely - Ron, Teddy, Ginny...

He was startled from his woolgathering when he felt Andromeda's palm on his shoulder. He turned away slightly to wipe away the tears that were threatening to spill and inconspicuously blew his nose.

"I know how you feel," she said slowly. "Sometimes I wish I had watched things more closely, never missed a moment of happiness I could have had with the people I loved."

Harry looked up at her. She just smiled back in a heart-wrenchingly sad fashion.

"I'd missed the miracle of it with my sisters, you know," she started again, her eyes misting. "We would always feud, never took the other's opinion at face value. Then one fine day, it was all gone... And all those thoughts of how desperate I was to be separated from them grew into laments of how much I missed them. And then Nymphadora... We hardly saw her after she became an Auror, she'd always be away at her missions. And then Remus came into her life and I couldn't have been happier for her... I just keep thinking, you know. If I'd just had a little more time...

"But I refuse to miss that with Teddy," she continued, determination sparking in her face, in the way her jaw was set. "I'll be there for every moment, whatever it takes of me."

"Me too," Harry confessed. Hadn't he missed a lot already? He had never had a childhood, his adolescent life was spent away fighting known and unknown enemies and now... Now he was free to do as he pleased. But that, he realized with a heavy heart, made things harder than ever. It came with responsibilities he had simply taken for granted and shrugged away, the kind he should have honed through the ages, but was too busy doing much else (saving the Wizarding World from imploding, for example, though he wasn't that proud of it).

"Oh, look at me," Andromeda said with a short laugh, dabbing at her eyes. "Let's not get into my sob stories."

Harry had never been good at comforting, and he was extremely relieved that Andromeda didn't fall into a depression and wax on about everything that had happened. It may sound heartless, but he knew they were never going to come back again. So might as well pick up and treasure the pieces he did have with him. Like Teddy.

"Do you want to hold him?" she asked with a soft voice, smiling at him.

_Do I ever._

"Yeah, sure."

She lifted Teddy from his cradle and pulled him into her arms, holding him close to her chest. "Hold your arms out, like I did."

Harry did, feeling quite stupid. Why was he so nervous about holding a child?

"Here you go," she whispered, handing Teddy over to him.

The moment he secured Teddy in his grasp, he felt an oddly overwhelming feeling rising in his throat, one that enveloped him from head to foot and making him giddily happy. And protective.

He felt like a father.

Well, OK, not exactly as a father, but he supposed that this was how he'd feel if he held his own child ten years down the lane. A boy who looked exactly like him, messy hair and all. Or maybe a girl, with beautiful green eyes and long scarlet hair.

_Scarlet hair?_

Andromeda's voice broke into his musings. "I'll give you two a moment," she said, exiting.

Suddenly, it was just man and godson.

"Hello, Teddy," he started with a reassuring voice, for the infant had begun stirring and fussing. "You don't know me yet, and I'm the only person you can blame for that."

Teddy rubbed his eyes and yawned. _Great. Now he couldn't even hold a child's attention._

"I'm Harry Potter, your godfather."

Teddy's face looked up at him immediately, as if recognizing him, and he burst into giggles.

Harry's heart soared.

"I knew your parents," he added. "Your father was great friends with my own father and godfather. They used to be inseparable, I've heard. And your mother, well she was the clumsiest person I've ever known."

Teddy laughed again and Harry was uplifted. "They were two of the bravest and strongest people I have ever met. And I can already sense you will grow up to be just like them."

He was vaguely aware of his eyes watering again, but he had to say this. Even if it fell to a child's ears, he needed to say some things aloud.

"Remus did his best to make sure I never felt like I needed a father. And God knows, I loved him for it."

Teddy lifted his hand upwards, trying to reach for something. Harry bent lower and nudged his nose with his own, his tears almost spilling on the baby.

"I grew up without my parents to guide me, and I daresay I still turned out OK. But you deserve more, Teddy. And I will spent every minute of my our lives making sure you never have to go through what I did."

A tiny chubby hand touched his cheek, blocking the steady flow of his tears which had soaked his face. Harry turned his face to kiss Teddy's palm, and felt a peace he had never felt before.

_I am home._

"You hear that, Teddy?" he fairly yelled, more for himself than his godson. "I'll be there for everything. From teaching you how to ride your first broomstick and where to store your wand so you don't lose parts of your body, to handing you the Marauder's Map and urging you to try out every prank your father and mine had worked so hard to establish. From scolding you over how you screwed up on your first date to when you get into trouble with McGonagall over a terrible Transfiguration assignment. From when you get your Hogwarts' acceptance letter to when you graduate and go off to become whatever you want to become... I'll be there for it all."

Cracking an encouraging smile, Teddy grabbed Harry index finger, the one he had been pointing vehemently at him since he had started with his sappy monologue.

Harry heart strained, so much that he felt it growing bigger and bigger right in his chest. "I've missed enough," he whispered to Teddy, like it was a secret, just for the two of them. "I'm bloody well not going to miss this."

He kissed Teddy's forehead, causing him to burst into a fit of charming titters, prompting Harry to add, "Oh, and just between you and me. Never go to Ron for advice. He stinks at it."

Gurgling, Teddy made a grab for Harry hair, managing to catch hold of a lock. Then he shut his eyes tightly and Harry watched in awe as Teddy's now-unruly hair turned a dark shade of inky black. Here he was thinking there was nothing in the world he could have loved right now as much as he did his godchild, and then Teddy had to go and do that. With another flood of tears making their way down his cheeks, Harry set Teddy back into his cradle.

He sat there gazing at the infant, whose life, though flawed, would soon be one filled with love and happiness. And even as he heard Andromeda sneak back in, he wasn't ready to leave as yet.

"How are things with you?" she asked politely. He nodded in supreme contentment and said, "They're fine for now. I expect things to get better."

"Yes, I met the Weasleys recently. Molly simply loves Teddy, and she helps me about a lot. Ginevra comes over frequently too. I think Teddy is quite attached to her now."

Harry turned to her with a shocked expression. "Ginny came here?"

"Yes, hasn't she told you?"

_No, she hasn't._

But he couldn't say that.

"I think she mentioned it," he breathed out. "I'm not sure."

"How are things with her? Nymphadora enjoyed talking about you two; she claimed she could sight love from miles away."

"I don't know," replied Harry wearily. "It's hanging about for now."

They slipped into silence, soft and comforting, for many minutes. Then Andromeda exclaimed, "Oh, look at the time! I have to leave, Harry. I have some errands to run."

"All right," went Harry even as he reached out for Teddy again.

"Would you like to mind him for a day?"

"What?" he asked, his head shooting up in surprise. "Are you serious?"

"Of course," she waved him off. "I'll get his things. He'll have to be fed frequently. And he needs a good dose of loving too, don't you, Teddy?" She lifted the baby into the air and made a small whooping sound, initiating the melodious sound of a baby's giggles, something Harry planned to get used to. She hugged him close and gave him a smacking kiss. "He's all yours for the day."

"I... Thanks. Thank you, Mrs. T."

"Oh, run along now. Molly will be expecting you back."

"Yeah," he said, picking up Teddy and gripping him tightly. He might have had a good heart-to-heart with his godson, but that didn't change the fact that his inexperience in baby matters might just cause Harry to drop him.

"And there's one more thing."

Harry turned to her, expecting a note on Teddy's lunch habits or changing timings.

To his surprise, she winked at him. "You know that girls love babies, right?"

***

**A/N --- I totally enjoyed writing this one, and I always had this inkling that Harry would have had a profound moment with Teddy at some point after the War. OK so I'm not that great at the emo bits, but hey, I tried, right?**

**This one is for Teddy, coz even in my head, he's so darn cute :P**

**R&R people! :D**


	8. The First Backfire

Chapter 8

**Olbers' paradox  
Why is the night sky black if there is an infinity of stars?**

...

"So before we go in, let's get some things straightened out."

Teddy Lupin looked up at his godfather, seeming slightly bored. And who could blame the kid? He had spent the last half hour watching Harry battle with his hair and then attempting to teach him how to be cute, all to impress Ginny, when he probably just wanted to take a nap.

"First off, I need you to know... I'm not using you."

Teddy was nodding off to sleep on Harry's shoulder. "Oi! Don't abandon me now!"

Teddy lifted his chubby arms and rubbed his eyes, his hair changing colours rapidly, something Harry just loved to sit back and watch. Then again, that had to wait, for he had other matters to settle.

"I need her back, Ted. You with me?"

Harry took Teddy's resulting yawn as a 'yes'.

"Great. Now brace yourself." And he walked into the Burrow through the kitchen door. Right into (yeah, you guessed it) Ginny Weasley.

"Uff," she mumbled, knocking her head with his. "What the crap- Teddy!"

Her attention diverted immediately to the infant on his hip, just as he had hoped. Teddy, on his part, perked up when he heard Ginny's voice, making Harry's heart clench with am immature sense of irrational jealousy. He wanted that kind of rapport with his godson, the kind Sirius had had with him and the kind Ginny was having with Teddy right now. She seemed completely at ease with the baby as she gracefully lifted him from Harry's hip (Thank Merlin she did; his hipbone was going to crack any second) and threw him lightly into the air, laughing along with him.

The image was one of serene domestication and Harry could almost picture himself standing in a kitchen just like this, with the aging crayon scribblings of dragons on the wall and the pots perennially scrubbing themselves, a dozen children he could call and love as his own and a beautiful wife whom he could worship and cherish. Wasn't that what all this was about? If you weren't here to find out where your place is and whom to share it with, what else are you supposed to be doing?

And as he watched Ginny sweep Teddy into a heartwarming hug and twirl him around the kitchen, he knew exactly where his place was.

Right here. In this kitchen. With her.

Now if he could just get _her _to realize that...

"Do you have him for the day?" she asked, her eyes dancing with happiness.

"Yeah," he replied, grinning stupidly. Her laughter was infectious. So much so that even Teddy, who was surprisingly awake and active now, was clapping his hands and smiling toothlessly. "I went to see him and Andromeda and she said I can keep him around for some time."

"That's great, Harry!" she exclaimed enthusiastically. Then she held out Teddy to him and he reached for the child automatically, like he'd always been doing this. "Hold onto him for a minute, OK?"

_OK. But..._

"Where are you going?" he asked, even as his bloody inner voice was telling him that things were just going to go downhill from here. He ignored that.

She looked back. "I'm getting Hermione," she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

_No no no no no no no no no no!_

"W-wha-why?! Why would you do that?" he gasped, making a poor attempt at imperturbability.

She rolled her eyes. "Maybe because she hasn't met him yet."

Harry dropped Teddy onto the counter and cast a shield charm around him so he wouldn't fall off the edge and turned to Ginny. "But why are you-" he spilled, rummaging through his head to say anything that might convince her to not leave the kitchen. "Dont you... You should- Teddy wants you here!"

_And the award for the world's weakest argument goes to..._

Though it was partly true. Teddy's arms were held out above him towards Ginny, motioning her to pick him up again. You AND me, kiddo.

"I see him all the time, Harry. But if you want to have him to youself for a while, I won't get Hermione just yet. And that actually makes sense considering she might be looking a fright right now, with all the snogging she does with Ron all day long. I mean, just because they feel the need to let everyone know how much they fancy each other, doesn't mean they have to do it parading around in front of all of us! I tell you, last night, all I wanted was a good shut-eye and there they are, on MY bed, of all places! Which reminds me-"

Harry figured the rant wouldn't cease until he intervened. "Uhh Gin, a little off topic here."

"Oh, yeah. All right then. I'll call her here later."

_Yes!_

Harry instantly brightened up, as he watched Ginny pick up Teddy, who was now whimpering. Of course, he had no idea what to do if a baby whimpered, but Ginny seemed to be able to comprehend it. She retrieved a miniscule bottle from the enormous backpack Andromeda had handed to him ("Babies are seriously high maintanence," she had said) and began feeding Teddy.

And then he had to ask her, "Why didn't you tell me you visited him?"

She didn't even look at him. "I just didn't want to pressure you, is all."

"Pressure me?"

"Well, you were already beating yourself up over loads of things. And if I told you that I was about seeing Teddy when you hadn't yet, then the whole guilt thing would kick in again and you'd feel like a prick. Like you always do."

_Am I that easy to read?_

Or maybe Ginny was just much too bright for her own good. "So how often do you go to meet him?"

"Just once a few days," she replied, jutting her hip out to rebalance Teddy, who had firmly latched on to the bottle and was quite oblivious to his surroundings. "I went to him everyday for the first few weeks though. You know, after the funeral."

"You weren't here?"

"Well, I was. Except I couldn't sit around crying all the time. Fred wouldn't have wanted that."

Of course Fred wouldn't have wanted that. But that just had to wait, hadn't it? It wasn't all that easy to recollect and laugh about the mischief he had caused when all they could think about was how the source of that laughter wasn't around anymore. He could feel the emptiness whenever he saw George, as if something was missing by his side. Over the last week, he had often heared George say something funny and caught him jerking his head towards his right, as if expecting an invisible Fred to add something witty to his lines. Only that never happened.

And gradually, George stopped joking all together.

Some kinds of pain were just hard to understand, Harry guessed.

"I tried," she continued, pulling Harry out of his thoughts. "I really tried to see humour in whatever I could. It just wouldn't come, just never felt right."

_Ginny, please don't do this..._

She went on, regardless of the fact that everything apart from his heart had gone numb. "And Teddy was just... he was so great, Harry! I could actually talk to him. Even if he didn't ever get what I had said. You are so good to me," she added to Teddy, whose world revolved entirely around the bottle now and couldn't care less about how much he had affected another's life.

But Harry did. And when he saw a tear slip out of the corner of her eye, he was lost for words. What could he possibly say to fix this?

So he did the next best thing: he reached out for her and drew her towards his chest, wrapping a protective arm around both her and Teddy, sweeping them into what he supposed was a friendly hug.

They stood like that in the messy Weasley kitchen for a long time, Harry feeling the urge to give her solace rather than kiss her senseless (which he also wanted to do, but hey, there were children about). Ginny was snuggling up to him, her silent tears being absorbed by his shirt fabric and her nose nudging his neck softly. He could have just stood there all day and-

"Am I interrupting somezing?"

Harry and Ginny sprung to different corners of the room, Teddy now fast asleep on Ginny shoulder, his bottle having fallen somewhere. Harry looked up and caught Fleur (when the hell had she turned up?) stifling a laugh as she looked from him to Ginny to Teddy. Then she exclaimed, "Oh! Who is zis little anzel?"

Ginny gestured for her to be silent and handed her Teddy, without a second look at Harry. But her shout had called down Hermione and Mrs. Weasley, both of whom were gasping quietly and cooing in unison, accidentally rousing Teddy from his slumber.

Basically, they forgot that he was in the room.

"Uhh... ladies?" he started carefully, not knowing what else to say. "Hello? I'm still here, you know."

And when they didn't even bother looking up, he gave up dejectedly.

But Harry swore he could see Teddy's eyes glinting back at him a look of pure friskiness.

_The nerve of that kid!_

Before cursing fluently under his breath and making an indignant exit, he caught Teddy's gaze again and mouthed, "This is not over."

***

Harry's annoyance didn't last long though, and when he deposited Teddy back to Andromeda, he offered to change him and tuck him into bed. Kissing Teddy goodnight, he pulled the covers around him, and only left when he was sure he had fallen into a deep sleep.

But his temper returned tenfold when he returned and sighted Ginny walking across the lawn towards the orchard. He ducked behind a bush till she had walked far enough that he'd be out of her line of sight, but he could still follow her. He watched as she stopped in front of an ancient willow tree, looked around quickly and tapped seven times on a low hanging branch.

A small opening delevoped in the tree's trunk, through which Ginny squeezed herself, and the next moment she was gone.

Harry sprinted to the tree and repeated her actions. He jumped into the hollow, which opened to a winding staircase that was too small for him to climb when standing up. Crouching and making his way up with difficulty, he finally reached the landing and stopped to the sound of hushed voices.

"-wanted some quiet."

"I can understand that."

Ginny and George were both seated on a comfy futon couch in a well-furnished room, leaning in and talking slowly. Harry felt soiled, almost dirty that he was eavesdropping on their conversation; it seemed too personal and something to be shared between siblings. So he did what he felt was the right thing and turned around to make his way back down.

"-he was all over himself, George. It was pathetic, really."

Something struck as familiar in that line and inertia made Harry stay rooted to the spot.

"Still that bad, huh?" George asked with a trace of humour in his voice.

"Yes! You should have seen him with Teddy; it was incredibly sweet and nauseating at the same time."

_They're talking about... me._

"Just give in, why don't you?"

_I so owe George!_

"I don't know," Ginny muttered, scratching her chin.

"Look, I know I should be protecting you from those scary boys who are out to pillage your modesty. But if you have to get a guy, I'd say Harry's on the top of the list."

Harry beamed, despite himself.

"Yeah, 'cause you think he's a prude."

_What?!_

"Precisely," George said, seeming happier than Harry had seen in a long time. "And that is why we approve."

There was a sudden abeyance in the conversation that Harry had expected. The moment George had said 'we', he knew he shouldn't be here, witnessing this.

"George," he heard Ginny murmur as he looked away.

"He does approve."

Harry's head snapped up and he took in the scene. Ginny was staring at George as if he had sprouted antlers and was holding a death grip on his hands.

George nodded and added in a gruff voice, "I know he does. We both do."

Suddenly she lauched herself at George, letting a shout of glee and hugging him tightly. George, for his part, hugged her back, both crying and laughing at the same time.

Harry left this time, his eyes welling up again. He hadn't realized that earning Fred and George's approval, even after all that had happened, had meant so much to him. But obviously it had. He dragged himself out of the tree's hollow and gazed up at the night sky, uttering a prayer for George to pick up the pieces of his life and move on. And a silent thanks for Fred who, despite his absense, had still managed to make Harry happier than he had hoped.

***

**A/N --- 'Cause George needs closure. As do Ginny and Harry.**

**And to prove that just because Ginny wants to appear tough, doesn't mean she can't cave in once in a while.**

**Review if you liked it! And even if you didn't :D  
**


	9. A Talk and Some Progress?

Chapter 10

**Schneier's Law **

**Any person can invent a security system so clever that she or he can't think of how to break it**.

...

"Listen up," Ron said, commanding Harry's attention. "If you absolutely _have_ to do this, there will be no talk of doing anything physical till you two are well and married."

Harry coughed, and not subtly. This had been a big mistake, coming to Ron to make sure he was fine with the idea of him and Ginny getting back together. Somehow nobility just never worked with Ron around. So in an attempt to lighten the situation, he joked, "I don't think you usually talk about getting physical, Ron. It just happens."

Ron sent him a hard glare that could have set a garden gnome on fire.

"But I guess you already knew about that," Harry purposely corrected himself, leaning back against his chair back and curving his lips upwards in a mocking smirk. "How's Hermione?"

"She's brilliant," Ron said dismissively. "And don't change the subject."

"OK Ron, I have to ask. Do you really think I am that much of a jackass?"

"Well, no, not really. Then again, you haven't had any in ages."

"Get over it! I'm not going to make a grab at your sister."

_Yeah, just bluff your way out of this mantrap._

Obviously, he wasn't going to just stop fooling around with Ginny if he got the chance, considering that Ron's general idea of propriety regarding his Ginny would involve locking her up in her room till she turned thirty. And as much as he hated lying to Ron through his teeth, the situation demanded it.

"And no holding hands around us either. It gets me monumentally sick."

"As opposed to finding your best mate's hands up your other best mate's shirt, which is in fact quite a pleasant sight," Harry replied dryly.

Ron reddened immediately and muttered something about 'my personal issue'.

_Hypocrite._

He couldn't listen to this any longer. "So I'm just supposed to satisfy myself for another decade or so without so much as touching her?" he asked, trying to seem casual.

"Yes!" Ron said brightly. "Glad we got that settled. Now I have to take your leave, Harry, my boy. Be good!"

He winked at Harry, who in turn threw a couple of profanities around for Ron to digest before he was off doing whatever he was going to be doing with Hermione.

_Some people have all the luck. _

As if on cue, Ron poked his head back into the room. "I have an idea."

Harry rolled his eyes and flung a shoe at him. "Great, because all brilliant plans start with you claiming you 'have an idea'."

Ron expertly sidestepped the shoe, his excellent Keeper instincts in place. "I can still take away my blessing, you know."

"And I still remember the incident involving a tattoo of a pygmy puff somewhere on your-."

"Right. Whatever," Ron cut in, annoyed. "If you don't want to hear this, I'll just leave. I have other places to be anyway."

Assuming this might work out to his benefit, Harry urged Ron to finish what he had come to say.

"This is just off the top of my head..." Ron started.

"Yes?"

"You should court her."

_Court her?_

"As in what the imbeciles of 16th century Britain used to pretend to be doing in a desperate attempt to get hitched and/or laid?"

"Yes, and it was the best possible way for a guy to make sure his sister's virtue was safe and untouched!" Ron let out with happiness, obviously pleased with himself.

"Ron," Harry groaned. "We've been through this. I'm not going to mess around with Ginny."

"Oh, I know you won't," Ron waved Harry off. "At least not yet. It's her I don't trust."

_So that's another Weasley brother who thinks I'm a prude..._

Harry grinned wildly, despite himself. "Well, I can't guarantee anything then."

"Shut it," Ron grumbled quickly. "I'm not asking for much here. Just a confirmation that you'll be a gentleman."

"And how exactly does one become a gentleman?"

"Well, take her out. Do something nice. Get her something she likes. And keep your man-parts to yourself," he added, lifting a finger as an accusation, even when he knew Harry would never compromise Ginny in any way.

"Yes, sir," saluted Harry, meaning it.

"Good." Ron leaned in and whispered, "And one more thing."

His curiousity ebbing, Harry leaned in too. "Yeah?"

"Something Hermione slipped me last week: do something different."

Harry threw another trainer at Ron, and this time it landed square between his eyebrows.

_I hope that leaves a mark._

***

He caught up with her just as she was leaving the house for a quick flying session.

"Hey there," he said cutting between her and the door.

"Hello," she said warmly, her lips curving into a wide smile.

"Where are you going?"

_She has a broom, stupid!_

She held up said broom, "Out flying. Do you want to join me?"

"Sure."

They stood that way for a few minutes, Harry staring at Ginny and she looking everywhere except at him.

Then she finally said, "We could gain some ground if you tried detaching yourself from the door."

"I would," he replied, letting out a shout of laughter. "Except I'd rather be elsewhere."

"All right, then," she said as she shifted to step around him. Harry moved in her way again.

"With you," he added with a cheeky grin.

"Oh."

"So you up for it?"

"I don't know," she smiled, even as she dropped her broom on a couch and looked back at him. "Should I expect conversations revolving around my shoelaces again?"

Harry snorted. "Hopefully not."

"OK, let's go."

And that was how Harry found himself being tugged by the arm out of the Burrow and into the gardens, blindly following her where she took him and completely forgetting where he had planned on taking her in the first place.

"So where are we headed to?"

_I'm sorry, what did you say? I can't think straight when you look so gorgeous._

"Harry!" she yelled, snapping her fingers in front of his face.

He jerked back to earth. "I was thinking we can go down to the lake."

"That's a nice idea. Should I get my swimsuit?"

_Her... what?!_

He could feel his face heating up and flushing as he stammered, "Your- you don't- you won't need your swimsuit."

She grinned mischieviously. "So we're going skinny dipping?" she asked with an innocent look she had obviously practiced well.

_If you want. Not that I would mind._

But he couldn't say that. Not when he had promised Ron he'd behave.

"I was thinking along the lines of... a picnic?" he suggested.

She gaped at him. "A picnic?!"

"Yeah. What's wrong with that?"

"But... you hate picnics!"

"No, I don't."

_Uhh... Yeah, Potter, you do._

"Yes you do! I've heard you say you'd rather make out in some supplies closet than be caught doing something as cheesy as going out for a picnic," she said, her cheeks glowing a delightful scarlet.

"Well, that Harry has changed," he said, pleased that he had made her blush. "You coming?"

"Changed?" she asked, seeming unsure of the whole idea.

"Completely," he confirmed.

"Harry... I don't think..."

"C'mon, Gin!" Harry whined. "It took me forever to get this ready."

I took a little more urging that he had thought but she finally caved in and agreed in a tired voice, "Fine, all right." Then she added, "Race you there!" and before she took off swiftly towards the lake.

His inner voice whooping cheerfully, Harry sprinted ahead of her and landed at the bank of the lake a few seconds before she caught up with him, out of breath and her hair flying everywhere. He reached out and tucked a free curl behind her ear, resisting the urge to just pull her into his arms and kiss her soundly. He sworn to Ron that he'd _court_ her first, and court her he will.

So, mentally beating himself up, he pulled her towards the blanket he had spread out, with the picnic basket and some cushions scattered on it.

And then they sat and talked. About Ron and Hermione and how she was definitely going back to Hogwarts but he wasn't so sure. They bantered about Teddy's favourite hair colour and she decided that she preferred Harry's own hair as thick and unruly instead of a closer cut. Then they talked about Sirius, about George, trying to convince each other that everything would be all right. The conversation slowly drifted to Quidditch and Gwynog Jones, and why Harry, despite the fact that he has been playing Seeker for years, hasn't quite settled on a favourite county team yet.

They talked about anything and nothing, and almost everything else in between.

And Harry never so much as touched her. Not even once.

_I'm well on my way to sainthood._

But that didn't stop Ginny from cozing up to him. She frequently grazed his side as she talked animatedly, or touched his arm gently. They were all innocent flirtings, but Harry felt each one mark his body, as if he had been branded.

When the sun hung low on the horizon, they left, their food untouched and their hearts full.

"How did I fare today?" he asked her as the Burrow came into view.

She gave a confused look. "What do you mean?"

He let out a shallow breath. "Do you still hate me?"

"I never hated you, Harry."

"OK, then," he dropped his voice to a bare minimum. "Do you like me?"

They reached the gate and she halted in her tracks, turning around towards him. She looked over his shoulder as she said, "I just wish you were yourself more."

_...Were myself more?!_

"I am myself, Gin. Who else could I possibly be?"

She glanced at him and he sighted a curious look in her eyes. A look of... pity?

"Good night, Harry," she whispered and reached up to lightly peck his cheek and turned to walk away.

_Oh, no! You're not getting away that easily._

He grabbed her quickly by the elbow and dragged her closer. "We can do better than that, right?"

Her eyes glazed over and in the faint evening light, Harry could see her brown eyes were rimmed with gold. He was so close to-

She pulled out of his grasp suddenly and took a few steps back. "No, we can't," she said grimly, before whipping around and marching towards the Burrow.

***

**A/N --- So there was more conversation in this than an actual plot. **

**But I don't really mind that, coz I loved writing Ron and Harry's exchange :-) **

**R&R, my good people!**


	10. Can You Say Awkward?

Chapter 10

**Petronius' paradox**

**Moderation in all things, including moderation.**

...

It took all of Harry's patience and effort to not appear too desperate and run after Ginny. At least, not immediately.

The moment he heard the door shut close, he kicked off on his heels, intending to catch her before she slipped up the stairs to her room. He would just casually slide in front of her, as if appearing from nowhere and take her aback. Then he'd end this nonsense once and for all.

Only Ginny, damn her, must have figured he would do that, and had disappeared by the time he flung open the door, only to bump into a form that definitely wasn't Ginny, stumble and land near a pair of large, dirty shoes belonging to equally large feet.

"Good evening, Harry," said Mr. Weasley, apparently amused. "How did things go?"

Harry scrambled to his feet, muttering hasty apologies. He managed a quick, "All right, Mr. Weasley" before dusting himself and spinning around to run back to Ron's room, curl up and die.

"She's quite a handful, isn't she?"

_Busted!_

Harry turned back around, not to make an effort to reply (because, seriously, what could you possibly say to escape such burning humiliation?) but mostly just to appear polite. He _was_ living in the Weasley household, after all.

And besides, Harry had just been caught plotting to make a pass at his daughter.

To his utmost surprise, Mr. Weasley laughed. "She's always been like her mother, that one. Turned my hair white faster than the twins ever did."

Harry laughed, "That troublesome, huh?"

Mr. Weasley's eyes twinkled. "Oh no, son. That was her first sign of magic. She literally turned my hair white."

The tension that Harry had imagined dissolved instantly and they both chuckled again. "She told me she also managed to trap Percy in his bathroom once."

"Yes, she did," sighed Mr. Weasley. "That was a long night. No number of repairing spells would work on that toilet seat after we rescued Percy."

They exchanged more stories, and the topic of Ginny led into more familiar and less embarrassing territory - the Weasley children, Teddy, Hermione, Hogwarts, Quidditch, the Ministry of Magic, the Auror offices...

"You'll definitely get in."

"I don't know, Mr. Weasley," Harry said slowly. "I talked to them and they want to take me in immediately..."

"But you'd rather they tested you like they do for everyone else."

"Well. Yeah."

"You're a good sort Harry," Mr. Weasley took a deep breath. "And I don't care what you think. You deserve this, a chance at being normal. Getting a job, buying a home, settling down. All of it."

It didn't take long for Harry to choke up again. He had been doing that a lot lately.

_At least thank him!_

"Thank-" he whispered. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Mr Weasley dismissed.

The conversation lapsed to a hush of routine questions, giving Harry enough time to recover before gathering the courage to probe further into something Mr. Weasley had let slip earlier. "So what did you mean when you said Ginny's a lot like Mrs. Weasley?" he asked innocently, in the same tone he used to discuss the rather dry topic of Ron-and-Hermione with George.

"Ah she's just a free spirit," said Mr. Weasley, obviously slipping into distant memories of a time when Ginny gave Fred and George competition. "And so short tempered. Sometimes I wonder if Ginny was just around to remind me not to underestimate Molly."

"Why is that?" Harry questioned. This was getting interesting.

"Well, it took me years to make Molly agree to go out with me," he started at a spot on the ceiling. "And she always wanted to do something different, something wild. I can't even begin counting the number of times we roamed around the grounds in the dead of night."

"Uh huh." _OK, this is just plain awkward now._

Mr. Weasley laughed suddenly. "There was this one time when she made me take her to the Prefects' Bathroom after curfew and-"

Colouring swiftly, Mr. Weasley coughed roughly and hastily added, "But that's a story for another time! Now go find Ron and get him to set the table."

Harry obeyed dutifully.

***

By the time Harry made it across the hallway and down the stairs in the darkness, he had almost collided into a series of objects - a table that had appeared from nowhere, two candlesticks that had been left lying around, Arnold the Pygmy Puff - and Hermione, who was trotting down the corridor in her nightgown to... Ron's room?

_Too much information._

But as long as they kept their business strictly to each other's beds and not his, he was only mildly nauseated.

The revelation caused Harry to slip on a doormat and bang his knee hard against the door of a closet, alerting Hermione to pull out her wand and point it in his general direction.

"Who's there?" she whispered harshly, poised to attack.

"It's just me," said Harry as he whipped off the Invisibility Cloak, his hands in the air. "Don't kill me."

Hermione gave a breath of relief. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Harry grinned. He leaned against the door and cracked his knuckles in what he hoped was a malicious manner. "Going to discuss S.P.E.W. with Ron, are we?"

Hermione spluttered. "No, I'm off to do the same thing you're thinking about doing with Ginny. At least I'm not just fantasizing it."

_Ouch. Low blow._

"Right," said Harry, irritated. "I have to go now. I won't rat you out if you won't."

Giving that a deep thought, Hermione brightened up and said, "Done. And good luck!"

And she waved at him and silently marched back towards Ron's room to fill her quota of secret rendezvous for the day.

As soon as he landed at Ginny's doorway, Harry immediately gave up all gentlemanly behaviour and turned the knob to enter, without even giving a thought to knocking.

Then again, he should have, for the sight that welcomed him was a tad too much to handle.

Ginny was buried under an extensive pile of covers and only her face, that gorgeous mane of copper hair and her legs were visible.

_Her legs… Sweet Merlin._

He had always pictured Ginny as extremely pretty, even before he had gone out with her. And once he had, he was quite convinced that she was beautiful in every way possible. But he hadn't prepared himself for the shock of finally learning that she could, with all due respect, be a goddess too.

Harry's breath caught violently in his throat at the sight of her long legs. They seemed to stretch on forever, perfectly toned and glowing softly in the pale moonlight that was cascading into her room through her open window. She was curled into a fetal position and her slender limbs were accentuated gracefully, leading up to the gentle curve of her hip which was partly hidden under the covers. Harry groaned noiselessly and his mind instantly formed a startling and vividly erotic image of those legs wrapped around him tightly, her delicate heels locked firmly at his back, right here, on this very bed –

_STOP! _

Uhh... Why?

_Because it is extremely disrespectful, and hello, don't you like the girl?'_

Yeah...

_Well then, be a man and LEAVE! _

Though his heavy heart and straining shorts told him not to, Harry still turned around and made for the door.

"'Ermione?"

_Good going, genius._

"Hermione," came Ginny voice again, laced with sleep and exhaustion. "Is that you?"

Harry spun around just in time to see Ginny lift herself off the bed, and in the process, divest herself off of her hefty blankets.

So basically, she was sitting in front of him with a shirt.

That's it, just a shirt.

OK, so it was really long and large, but he could still see a lot of her legs, and that seemed to interfere with his thought processes, for even as she yelped softly in realization and covered herself quickly, Harry still stood rooted to the spot, managing only a weak, "Hey, Gin."

She groaned. "No, Harry. Not another picnic, all right? And definitely not in the middle of the night when I…" she laughed nervously. "I'm half-naked! I need to get back to sleep. Now if you'll just leave-"

"No!" Harry cut in. "No picnics, I promise. I was thinking we could go out for a quick fly."

Her large eyes widened and she threw a murderous look at him. "Are you freaking kidding me, Potter?" she hissed, wrapping a blanket around herself and moving forward to stand in front of him. "Please tell me you hit you head somewhere between now and the last time we met."

Harry had to laugh at that. He caught hold of her hand (not the one holding up her less-than-modest clothing) and tugged on it. "It's just a quick trip to the woods. I swear I'll have you back by midnight," he grinned, chuckling at his own joke, quite confident that she had read _Cinderella_ in her Muggle Studies lessons.

"It's one fifteen, Harry," Ginny yawned.

_Oh._

"Fine," he muttered. "I'll have you back by two. You coming?"

Ginny gave him a curious look of surprise which was quickly masked by annoyance. "And if I say no?"

He took a chance. "I'll just carry you, forcefully if necessary."

She raised an eyebrow, meaning to look menacing, but ruining the effect with a radiant smile. "Oh, all right. You win. Give me a minute, yeah?"

_Yes!_

Harry stepped back and waited for her to do whatever she wanted to do before leaving, mentally high-fiving himself.

And it was only after a couple of seconds had passed that he realized that she expected him to wait elsewhere.

"Uhh... Should I wait outside?"

"Yes, please," she said patiently, her jaw clenched.

Harry didn't need telling twice.

***

**Sorry guys, my exams are in full swing and I'm probably going to take my time with the next few chapters.**

**Thanks for your feedback though!  
**

**Read and review as always...**

**Peace out. :)**

**.**


	11. Can't Say He's Not Trying

Chapter 11

**Hanlon's razor**

**Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.**

...

Harry had no idea how far they flew, or for how long. He couldn't quite remember what they spoke (or yelled) about, or how many innocent woodland creatures they had terrorized that night. He also couldn't really bring himself to care about anything of their past, of how they were and what they had become.

She was here. Now. And not swearing at or hexing him.

But of course, besides all this, he definitely knew he wouldn't get her back by two.

So they flew through the dense foliage of the forest, each expertly dodging branches and the occasional irate owl. They raced as fast as they could, stopping only to entice each into another one. Shouting instructions at each other frequently, they made their way in, around and above the woods. And when they finally stopped, they were deep in forest, landing only at a clearing from where they got a breathtaking view of the inky black sky and a generous splatter of twinkling stars across it.

Harry transfigured a rock into a large blanket (though slightly rough, he still hadn't mastered that) and spread it on the dewy ground, just below a birch tree. He spotted Ginny landing a few feet away and approaching him, and his gaze was pulled to her. She was perspiring and her hair was everywhere, yet she looked positively brilliant. Her sculpted cheekbones stood out brightly in crimson against her pale and freckled skin. She seemed to have either missed or was completely ignoring the fact that Harry was gawking at her as she reached his side, laid aside her broom and dropped with little grace onto the blanket.

Harry took the moment to look down at her, taking in the view of her form - the gentle rise and fall of her chest, the way she kept moving her feet with restlessness, how her eyes reflected the moonlight.

"Potter? Are you still alive?"

Harry grinned sheepishly, almost unapologetic that he had been caught staring. He shrugged, causing Ginny to smile too, as he settled down on his back next to her.

They lay in silence for a while, each needing to catch their breath. Harry glanced over at her by the corner of his eye and noticed that she had closed her eyes shut.

"The sky looks beautiful today," she said, her eyelids fluttering open. "Doesn't it?"

Harry made an attempt to look up at the stars and answered, "Yeah, it does."

"Under normal circumstances, this would probably be a very romantic moment."

Harry's heart thumped faster than ever and he looked at her to ask cautiously, "And what would constitute normal circumstances?"

Here smile widened. "Oh, the usual. Ugly, bitchy and almost-immortal dark lords, rogue ministries, threat to world peace and order... A leaf out of Harry Potter's everyday life."

"All that's gone," sad Harry in a weary tone. "No more dark lords or rogue ministries. Just you and me under the night sky, Gin."

"I wish people would stop calling me that."

Harry was startled. "Stop calling you what?"

She turned on her side, facing him and supporting her head with her arm. "Gin," she said in reply. "It makes me feel like something that is present for the sole purpose of registering a successful hangover."

"Oh. OK," said Harry, slightly disappointed. "So should I stop?"

She smiled again. "What have you always called me?"

"Uhh... Gin?"

She plopped onto her back again, seeming smug. "Then Gin it is."

Harry chuckled, swelling with pride and a weird sort of protectiveness. She had just authorised him to call her by his name of choice and that had to be nothing other than a step forward. And getting closer to her only made him all the more determined that she was going to be his.

Or, if he was just lucky enough, he could be hers.

Ginny started chattering about random things that irked her, something Harry happened to enjoy very much. Granted, he didn't always listen to her (a secret that both he and Ron swore to never reveal outside the bonds of their friendship). But just the way her gestures and words lit up a thoroughly animated version of Ginny kept him striving for these moments.

"You're not listening to me, are you?"

_Wow... I think I love you._

"Of course, I am," he retorted. "How could you possibly doubt me?"

She tapped her chin in mock thoughtfulness and answered, "Maybe because I asked you whether you had heard from the Auror office yet and you said, 'Yeah, that match was brilliant.'"

_Whoops. But I still love you._

"Gin?"

She gently closed her eyes shut and replied, "Hmm?"

"I was wondering... I know we've had our problems and stuff. But I think... What I mean to say is..."

He hadn't planned on saying anything today; a fun, wild trip was all he had had in mind. But he figured he would never get a moment like this again and tried to pull together all his wriggling nerves.

Letting out a shallow breath, he continued, "We've been making progress... And I feel like I need you as something more than what we are now."

_Oh, my God, Potter. You're going to make yourself bawl like a baby!_

"That is to say, I want you for myself. Just for myself. And I know I've been a complete arse, but I was confused and felt guilty for everything, and then I saw you and spoke to Teddy and everything changed... I want you back."

He straightened his posture, even while lying on his back. He felt himself buzzing with a blissful energy that he knew was sourced by Ginny. And that even if she couldn't say anything right now, he knew she would reciprocate.

"So what do you say? Be mine, Gin?"

At this, he looked over at her face to sight her expression.

Only to find her completely emotionless and with her eyes shut. It almost looked like she had... fallen asleep...

_HA! Bloody bugger, she fell asleep! You're going to die alone, Potter!_

Harry pushed himself up in anger and lifted his hands to shake her awake. He stretched his arms out to grasp her shoulders and force her out of her slumber, when he took a quick glance at her face.

Big mistake.

She looked almost angelic, a trait nobody usually associated with Ginny Weasley. Her cheeks were faintly pink now and he could clearly see the scatter of freckles, just like the night sky, across her pert nose. Lips pouting slightly, she seemed so peaceful that Harry decided to retract his hand.

Only he couldn't find the compulsion to do that either. Instead, he traced her slim shoulder with a single finger, moving it slowly up her neck and across her cheek, caressing it carefully. There was something extremely intimate about the contact; it felt remarkably both arousing and tender at the same time. His finger reached the corner of her lips and he slowly flicked his thumb over her plump lower lip, groaning in response to what she was doing to him, even in her sleep.

And then he had to do it. He just had to.

Harry leaned forward slightly, placing one hand on the curve of her waist and using the other to cup her face. Muttering a sigh of awe, he dipped his head forward and touched his lips to hers.

The effect was electrifying, pushing Harry into a known world of escapes to the Shrieking Shack where they used have their way with each other, barring all interruptions from the outside universe. He kissed her softly, just vying for a taste of the essence that he had missed for so long.

Suddenly, he was taken aback as he felt a movement under him. He pulled back, only to find Ginny's eyes opened slightly and her gazing at him with an extremely seductive expression that made Harry groan again.

And he was surprised all the more when she reached out to caress his face and pull him closer for another kiss.

This time, it wasn't anything sweet or tender. The prelude had left Harry wanting more and as their mouths met again, this time in a deep kiss resonating loudly with passion and pent-up frustration, he rolled on top of her and wrapped his arms firmly around her body, sliding lower with each moment to settle at her hips. Harry heard a throaty moan emerge from the depth of her chest and he was spurred on, their tongues caught in a fiery battle. Just as he had imagined it, she positioned her legs on either side of him and he traversed a roaming hand along the length of one lean leg.

He had never thought he could want someone just for the sake of wanting them. But here he was, with a girl who pretty much blew his mind away – when she argued with him, whenever she raised her wand to threaten him with a curse, all those times she wanted a shoulder to rest on but never asked for it, the way she looked at him when he was attempting to be adorable – there were things about her that annoyed him to no length, yet those were what he found deeply endearing. Oh, he didn't need Ginny; he managed to survive fine without her for a year. He just… wanted her.

But of course, moments like these don't ever last long, and when Harry heard a sudden noise in the woods, he sprung to his feet and drew his wand, his chest straining with the pressure of sharing air with another for such a prolonged period of time.

When he had determined that it was just a branch crashing, he turned back to Ginny, obviously expecting to carry on what they were doing before being forced to split apart. But he didn't find her looking up at him. He didn't find her up on her feet and walking towards him either.

He found her asleep again.

_That was one hell of a kiss! How can anyone possibly sleep through that?!_

But sleep she did and she showed no signs of being perfectly snogged within every inch of her life, as Harry had felt. He was desperate to do that again, to continue his explorations of her mouth and insanely long limbs in leisure.

Then again, that could wait. Now he had to get Ginny home in one piece. A Weasley in slumber could only mean more trouble.

***

**A/N --- NO PLOT. Fluff all the way :)**

**My heartfelt thanks to everyone who commented! I adore you guys :D**

**And I really want to start one of these for Ron/Hermione. They personify cuteness together and Weasley passion is as hot as it gets. What do ya think?  
**

**Keep reading!**


	12. Random, Much?

Chapter 12

**Hume's Law**

**The assertion is that normative statements cannot be deduced exclusively from descriptive statements.**

...

Nothing short of pure, unadulterated fury made Harry push himself off his bed the next morning, get dressed, swallow his breakfast whole and Apparate to Diagon Alley. He landed at the entrance of Quality Quidditch Supplies, tripping at the door before regaining his balance, making a quick scan around the area and finding the place relatively empty compared to his memory of those street years ago when they were bustling with activity. He figured people were still afraid to move around, and he was, cold-hearted as it seemed, slightly thankful for that.

So instead of attempting to scale his way through massive, noisy crowds, he was free to run through the events of last night which still seemed like a blur, but he was able to put most of the pieces together. His first plan had been to just levitate Ginny home, but that had seemed risky since he had to fly. And he couldn't pull her along for a Side-Apparation either; he just wasn't that good at it yet. So instead, he did the stupidest thing he could have ever done. He attempted to wake her up.

_"'Arry, Get off me!"_

_"OK, Gin. Time to wake up." _

_"Gimme a few more minutes..."_

_"It's almost three in the morning and if your mum finds us gone she'll probably have my head."_

_"Good! You deserve it anyway, you've been a complete arse since you came back."_

_"All right, that was just uncalled for! Let's just get to the damn house and we'll discuss this later."_

_"I should just curse you... What the hell? Where is my... Did you take my wand?!"_

_"Look, you're up. Now lets fly back safely and I'll happily give you your wand back."_

_"You're giving me my wand back regardless, you self-righteous prick!"_

_"Ahh! You better get off me now!"_

_"Give me my wand!"_

_"Fine, you asked for it!"_

_"PUT ME DOWN, POTTER!"_

_"QUIT KICKING ME, WEASLEY!"_

That had been a night well spent. And by the time she had wrestled her wand off him (for a little thing, she was quite strong) and marched off to gather her broom and kick off, Harry was completely exhausted. That may have been partly due to the mind-blowing kiss he has received from her that same evening. A kiss that had made his toes curl, his heart thud wildly against his ribs and made him lose his mind completely.

A kiss that she didn't remember.

_Oh, well. You can't win them all._

But couldn't he win at least once?

Trying to push Ginny out of his thoughts (and failing miserably) Harry made a quick trip to his vault and ran through a couple of errands he had to fall through for George and Hermione. This took him all afternoon, as the exact copy that Hermione had requested of some book with gibberish printed all over the cover had not been delivered yet, but since Harry Potter was asking for it, he could make a few Floo calls and get him a brand new copy by three in the afternoon. George's ingredient stash was remarkably less difficult to trace, though it left Harry with a weird feeling that he had just participated in an illegal trade, judging by the shady look of the dealers. Feeling slightly elated for no apparent reason with that information, he made a beeline for the Leaky Couldron, desperate for a large mug of warm, soothing Butterbeer.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Potter," came Tom the innkeeper's voice as soon as he reached the bar table. "How are things going?"

Harry grinned at the man. "Quite well, actually. If you'd be kind enough to ring for a couple of treacle tarts and some Butterbeer for me, please?"

Tom grinned back in a menacing fashion. "Of course. And they're on the house."

Harry almost jumped out of his seat to protest, but Tom cut through, "It's not everyday a hero visits our humble shack, is it?"

Harry's heart lept to his throat. "There were a lot of heroes there, Tom. Some sacrificing more than I ever did."

"Aye," said Tom. "But where did they get their courage?" With that, Tom shifted towards the other end of the bar to address another customer wearing a large raincoat, even in the middle of summer and leaving Harry to ponder over that.

His thoughts were interrupted by a pretty waitress who placed his order in front of him. "Here ye go, Mr. Potter. Enjoy," she smiled, her teeth perfectly even.

As Harry took a good swig of his Butterbeer, he heard the waitress give a long sigh. He followed her gaze to a couple sitting at a cozy corner table, holding hands and deeply in conversation.

"I like meself a good love story, if I could just find one," she muttered under her breath. Then he turned her gaze to Harry, "What's your story, love?"

Harry choked on a piece of jelly tart he was chewing. "Story?" he gasped. "What story?"

The waitress gave a tinkling laugh. "Oh, the magical kind. You got yourself a girl to love yet?"

His thoughts wandered to Ginny, someone to whom he was pretty much willing to give his entire self to. If only she'd have him.

"I did, yeah," he gulped another mouthful of his drink. "Didn't work out well."

"Ah, then you know what you have to do, aye?"

She was giving him a curious look of pity and mock amusement. So he asked her, "What should I do?"

The waitress chuckled again, clutching her stomach as her laugh rumbled across the bar counter. "Do what all those lasses want you to do, of course."

_"Of course"?! It can't be all that obvious now, can it?_

She caught the look on his face and gave a wide smile. Making a scan of the bartender and the customers, she bent her head low and whispered, "Take her out, love."

"I've already tried that," said Harry in a weary voice, pushing himself away.

"Taken her for a picnic?"

Harry's ears reddened at her question, which she took as a yes.

"She's a woman, my boy. Make her feel like one."

Harry shifted on his seat to move closer again. "And how do you make a woman feel like a woman?"

"Why, you take her out on a date! Candles, flowers, wine, romantic gestures... Whatever it takes!"

Thinking over that, Harry said softly, "Whatever it takes..."

"Whatever," the waitress replied confidently. And with that, she refilled his mug, lifted her tray and swept away.

Recovering, Harry called after her, "Thank you!" She waved back nonchalantly in response, leaving Harry alone to sit back against his chair and think.

_Whatever it takes, Potter. Can you do that?_

Of course, he could. How hard could that possibly be?

And feeling his mood elevate a little, Harry drowned the rest of his Butterbeer, threw a couple of gallions onto the counter, gave a jaunty wave to the couple (who didn't really seem to recognize him, considering they were locked in a passionate embrace) and stepped out into the bright sunlight.

***

**A/N --- I was just desperate to get some random person's view into this. It may have turned out awkward, but I'm happy with it.**

**And with awesome reviews comes desperately needed criticisms! My ego was totally inflated, I really needed that :D**

**In response to Feff --- I figured Harry has spent most of his teenage life being such as adult that he forgot to feel all those things that came with puberty, and the conflict between wanting and needing was one of them. I've always wanted to portray him as a kid who still doesn't know the answer to everything yet, and sexual frustrations can only make things more confusing.**

**Thanks for the comments, I really appreciated them. I wish I could respond individually, but these are the exams that kinda 'decide my life or whatever' and if I'm caught spending my time here, I'll be grounded into the next decade :-S  
**

**Keep R&R-ing though :)**


	13. Let's Keep the Luck

Chapter 13

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**A/N --- It's chapter 13 *shudders in horror* and I figured: Harry and Ginny already have it so messed up. Do I want to throw an extremely unlucky number into the mix too? **

**No. :)**

**.**

***


	14. Her Virtue and His Annoyance

Chapter 14

**Clarke's Second law **

**The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.**

...

It took exactly fourteen hours, thirty-six minutes and twenty seconds to get Ginny to cool down and listen to him without making a dive for her wand.

Well, actually, it had taken fourteen hours, thirty-six minutes, twenty seconds, numerous failed apologies, a few randomly placed punches and, oh sweet Merlin, several nauseating love notes passed through the bottom of her door, some which he could make out through the whispers from her room, were read aloud by Ginny as she and Hermione gave frequent rumbles of suppressed laughs. And since Harry wasn't all that brilliant at penning his romantic thoughts the sodden Romeo way, he had to go to Ron for help and had wasted two out of those painfully long hours trying to get Ron to stop rolling on the floor with laughter.

A fat lot of help he was.

Regardless, he was determined to get her to say yes to going out with him. Alone. Just him, her and a hopefully irresistible candlelight dinner.

His hands were sweating already.

And finally when Ron emerged from the floor with carpet burns on his arms (_Ha!_) he said with a straight face, "Compliment her. Give her a flower or something equally nice. Eat small morsels. I learned that the hard way," he added, mumbling in a low voice. "Be a gentleman: open doors and pull out chairs. Give her a peck if she lets you but don't go too far, if you catch my drift."

_The ghoul upstairs catches your stupid drift, Ron. Can you possibly say something useful for once?_

But the Harry in the physical manifestation muttered a quiet "Thank you" and made his exit, cursing himself for even attempting to get advice from Ron. Hermione didn't like others opening doors for her and she fumed smoke it if anyone so much as gave her the impression that she couldn't pull out her own chair to seat herself. And no compliment would ever seep into Hermione deep enough to make her forget if she was mad at Ron. If Hermione, who mostly kept her emotions under control, behaved so, why would Ginny, a self-confessed fire-breathing dragon, be any different?

He had no idea how he was going to get her to agree, but he knew one thing: desperate times called for desperate measures. And gods, was he desperate.

***

He tracked her down hours later in the garden where she was plucking peonies for dinner. He had stalked her every move to get her alone and he wasn't going to mess this up now. Besides, nothing could be ruined in such a beautiful setting, with the wild flowers in languid bloom and the sun drifting towards the horizon-

"Take another step forward and the boy who lived will be begging for death."

OK, so maybe it wasn't all that fool-proof.

He approached her cautiously, hoping that any threats she aimed at him were generally empty.

"I'm warning you," she said, finally looking up at him.

Harry did his best to take that seriously, but he just couldn't. Not when she was standing so close to him that he could just reach out and she'd be in his arms. Not when the sunlight was reflecting off her hair, making it look a rich golden instead of the usual scarlet. Not when her eyes were all but beckoning him closer.

And who was he but a poor mortal to allow himself to be beckoned?

And earn a good kick in a the shin for that.

"What the-" he yelled, frantically rubbing his leg. "What the hell was that for?!"

He looked up at her and was surprised to find her clutching her side, laughing with glee.

_She's insane. That's all there is to it. You're asking a madwoman out! Run, run now when you have the chance and hide!_

"Have you lost it?" he pondered aloud, discovering slowly that her shouts her laughter were turning infectious. He succumbed; a low sound of happiness resonating from deep in his chest that he knew had nothing to do with him finding any humour in the situation (his shin was still throbbing). He just liked laughing with her.

Ginny wiped a tear off the corner of her eye and gradually stood back straight, a satisfied smirk still on her face. "Did that hurt?"

"Are you really asking?" he said incredulously.

"I like to be told I'm strong."

He snorted. "Well, trust me. You're strong."

He say her eyes glint with a mysterious sparkle as she asked him, "So what's with all those boring apology letters?"

"Boring?" he said, wounded. "I'll have you know that I meant every word I wrote. And they mean a lot to me."

"Oh, looks like I awakened the poet in you."

"There were no poems in there."

"Really? I didn't notice. I fell asleep after the second one."

He clamped a hand over his heart in mock dismay. "That hurt. You hit me deep, Weasley."

"You'll recover," she shot back as she picked her last flower. "So what did you really send those for? Besides to provide me with amusement and Hermione with ample ammunition against you."

_This is it. Judgement Hour._

"I was thinking... That is... Do you want to, umm, go down to the village tomorrow night?"

"Like on a date?"

"Well, yes," he replied nervously. "Is that a problem?"

"No, it isn't. Any suggestions on attire?"

"Uh... Anything you want, I guess."

"Cool," she said and started walking away towards the house before it hit Harry. _Any suggestions on attire?_

Whipping to face her retreating back, he said "So does that mean you're coming?"

She turned to face him, still walking backwards, dodging the bushes as if she knew the way around blindfolded. "Do I have to hit you on the head with something to make it clear?"

He blushed again. "No. I got it."

She sent a luminous smile his way. "Good. But this time around, if I fall asleep due to utter boredom, don't attempt to snog me."

And with that she had run into the house, leaving Harry feeling a multitude of emotions at the same time. She remembered the kiss. So either she didn't want to bring it up which might mean she isn't really interested, or maybe it was just that bad.

Either way, he wasn't winning.

But he hadn't felt the need to bother with those details since he was so sure that if Ginny didn't like him already, she was definitely going to fall for him by the end of the night.

***

"What the hell do you wear on a date?!"

Ron looked up from his book (since when did he start reading anything besides Quidditch magazines?) and gave a long sigh of heavy suffering. "Harry," he said, throwing his legs over the armchair and walking towards him. "Harry, Harry, Harry. It's just Ginny. She wouldn't even mind if you turned up naked."

Harry smiled weakly. "Really?"

"Well, no. You turn up naked, I'll probably pummel you. No offense, but I'd like to keep her away from the male anatomy for a while. You know, till she gets married or reaches her fortieth birthday..."

_Stop, Ron. Just STOP._

Exasperated, Harry turned to Ron and said with a violent hiss, "Ron, I finally got Ginny to go out with me. I am not going to ruin this by trying to suggest that we sleep together."

Ron pulled a face and pondered on this while Harry picked three more shirts to try. "So what you're saying is, you won't bring it up on _this_ date..."

Harry slammed the case of his trunk and bellowed, "Her virtue is safe, you can trust me on that!"

"Fine," mumbled Ron. "She is my sister, you know. I'm still allowed to look out for her."

Slouching, Ron exited the room, leaving Harry shamefaced and feeling extremely shallow.

Harry sprinted to the door and poked his head out. "Ron, listen. I'm sorry about that. Just stressed out, you know."

Ron twisted around and gave Harry a half-smile. "I know. Take it easy, mate. It never used to be like this."

"Yeah. But that was before."

Ron walked back up to the door and leaned against the opposite wall. "Then maybe that's what you should work towards. What it used to be."

Harry instantly dismissed the idea. "Not that I don't want to take relationship advice from you. I think we're both too different now to go back to what we were."

Looking at his feet and shaking his head, Ron gave a snort of disapproval. "Whatever you say, mate. I'm going to get something to eat. Best of luck... With everything."

And with that, Ron tumbled down the stairs, and Harry was left with an entrenched sense that he was missing something here. He just didn't know what that was.

***


	15. Let's Head Back

Chapter 15

**Hutber's law**

**Improvement means deterioration.**

...

"I don't drink, Harry."

He knew that. Of course he knew that. She considered alcohol and dark magic the only things that the wizarding population was completely helpless against, and Harry remembered distinctly agreeing with her over this just to make her shut up so they could get on to merrier things.

Yet why he couldn't remember that a few seconds ago when he had ordered the most expensive wine in the restaurant in the village, where he was on a date with Ginny, he could hardly fathom.

Everything had been going fine will they reached the restaurant. He had been waiting for her in the garden in his best pressed trousers and a casual shirt when he saw her appear at the door. She had chosen a blue sundress of a flowy material and her hair was left free, blowing fiercely in the warm summer wind. When she walked up to him and greeted him with a wide smile, he remembered responding, only his voice seemed a few octaves too high. She had given a tinkling chuckle, and then proceeded to link her arm with his and pull him down the pathway.

As the walked to the village, he had tried his best to pay attention to her incessant conversation, which he had found an extremely arduous task, considering how breathtaking she looked that evening. He couldn't make out a hint of makeup (not that he was skilled at spotting that) and he found that oddly relaxing - that she didn't feel the need to take any special efforts for today. He preferred her comfortable in her own skin. And besides these distractions, there had been the fact that he was striving to slip her hand into his in a casual way, but that hadn't worked out for him yet.

When they had reached the restaurant, she quickly whipped around towards him and asked in a hushed tone, "Are you sure?"

"Am I sure what?"

"That you want to go here. We can just walk around if you want."

"I already paid for a private table, so you can't bail out this time."

Ginny's lips twitch with a barely suppressed smile and taking that as a positive sign, he grabbed her hand (finally) and pull her in.

They had followed the waiter to a small, cozy setting for two, and upon being seated, Harry had asked for their best bottle of wine.

Cutting back to present times, Harry was beginning to notice the lull in their conversation. She has been unusually quiet since they had entered the restaurant and he knew it wasn't because she was feeling uncomfortable here. Hell, Ginny could camouflage herself into virtually any situation. There was something else she was feeling that she didn't feel was necessary to share with Harry.

"How's your pasta?"

"As pasta usually is."

Giving another try, he said, "What do you want for dessert?"

She glanced up at him. "Nothing, actually."

He couldn't comprehend the sudden change in her demeanor, but he was abruptly overcome by the need to leave as quickly as possibly and did some swift thinking. Just as the waiter cleared off their dishes, he asked her in a whisper, "You want to ditch this place?"

She smirked a radiant, toothy smirk. "Do I ever."

Responding with a smug grin and glad that he had thought fast enough to salvage the night, he motioned for the bill. He cashed for the food (after a verbally abusive battle over who would pay the bill) and finally, with Ginny still grumbling, but miraculously herself, they made their way out. This time, hand in hand.

They slipped out of the restaurant, laughing for no apparent reason and rounded the corner to grab some ice cream at a small shop located at the end of the street ("Nothing like a good dose of chocolate to end the evening," declared Ginny) when they ran into two forms, one of which was very familiar.

"Luna!" cried Harry and Ginny in unison.

Dusting herself, Luna Lovegood turned her magnificently large eyes to both of them and smiled wide. "Hello, Harry, Ginny," she said happily. "How are you two?"

"Pretty good," replied Harry, both him and Ginny rushing forward to envelope her in a hug. "And you?"

Luna looked up at her companion, a lanky boy with dusky hair and blue eyes, who looked back at her with equal adoration. "Oh, I am fantastic," she said, not removing her gaze off him.

Ginny clapped her hands together in an oddly pleased way and said, "And who is this?"

"I'm Rolf," he replied, holding out his hand to shake Harry's and Ginny's. "Rolf Scamander."

"Oh," said Ginny. "Scamander, did you say? Are you related to-"

"Yes, I am," he cut in awkwardly. "I don't really like talking about that though."

Ginny chuckled and nodded politely. "Well, I won't ask then. So did you go to Hogwarts? 'Cause I'd remember you..."

Realizing that Ginny wasn't going to stop chattering any time soon, Harry turned towards Luna. "It's been a long time."

"Yes, it has," a dreamy voice drifted towards him. "How have you been?"

"You already asked me that," he replied, slowly. Luna had always been a vaguely odd sort, and that was what he adored about her

"I'm asking again," smiled Luna.

"Well, then I'm saying I'm doing great. And how's... Rolf?"

Luna reddened, her usually pale face now glowing. "He's... quite something, isn't he?"

"Forgive me if I don't reply to-"

"What are you doing, Harry?"

Harry jerked his gaze away from Ginny and asked, "I'm... here with Ginny."

Luna sighed. "Oh, I know that. I think you can do better, don't you?"

_Right. Step away from the lunatic._

"Do better? We're on a date, Luna. The whole romantic dinner affair. Wine, flowers, candles, music. How much better can it get?"

Luna ignored that, and reached out to touch his shoulder, dropping her hand to squeeze his gently.

"Why did you change, Harry?"

"Change?" he coughed, lowering his voice to an almost inaudible range so Ginny and Rolf wouldn't hear. "Of course, I'm different. Aren't we all now?"

"I'm not," she said softly, so silently that Harry could have sworn it was the whisper of the wind. "And I'm going to make sure I never change."

"That's not possible, Lu-"

"Maybe not," she cut in. "But I will try anyway."

"All right," said Harry, tired. "And how does this affect me and Ginny?"

There was a moment of silence when Luna slipped her hand back to Harry's shoulder. He felt the gesture oddly comforting, yet why he needed comfort in the first place, he couldn't understand.

"Remember how it used to be?" she asked quietly.

"How could I forget?"

"Do you want that back, Harry?"

_More than ever._

"More than ever," he admitted.

Luna straightened and smiled warmly. Then suddenly, she leaned towards Harry and hugged him fiercely. "Do what you used to do," she whispered in his ear. "And I guess things will be fine."

"Are you sure?" he whispered back, suddenly more nervous than he had thought possible.

She pulled away and looked at him. "No."

"N-no?"

"No," she replied firmly. "But I hope they do."

"Hey," came a male voice. Rolf strode up to Luna and took her hand in his. "We should get going."

"Yes," she said, still looking at Harry, and as if she was reading his mind, she added, "Don't worry."

Ginny reached Harry's side. "Don't worry about what?"

"About the warkspureets," said Luna quickly. "They enjoy assaulting wandering couples, but as long as you don't stray too far into the bushes, you'll be fine."

Ginny laughed, "And what business could we possibly have amongst the bushes?"

Harry's face grew decidedly warm and he hoped earnestly that there wasn't any proof of his embarrassment on his face.

Smiling, Luna answered, "The same that we had, right Rolf?" causing a mortified Rolf to go red in the face.

_Well, at least you're not the only one flushing now._

Ginny guffawed, "Surreal, as usual. We'll be leaving, guys. Have a great night."

They exchanged their goodbyes and before long Luna and Rolf had departed, leaving Harry and Ginny alone in the street.

"It's OK," said Ginny, taking Harry's hand.

"Huh?"

She leaned in, forcing Harry to look over her shoulder, scared about something all of a sudden. Was Luna right? Did Ginny really want nothing to change?

"Look at you..."

He would do it for her, be normal. Hell, he'd do anything to get her back in his life.

_Do what you used to do._

"It's all right to be scared."

_Is it? 'Cause I'm scared that if I don't do this right, I might lose you._

"I'll protect you."

And that was all Harry needed.

That, and a grand gesture. To prove he was actually back to normal.

"Really?" he asked, wondering how she had managed to extract his thoughts.

"Yeah," she bit her lips in amusement. "I mean, how hard can warding off warkspureets be?"

_What...?_

"Warkspureets?"

"Yeah. I think they actually might exist. You can never know with Luna."

Harry looked away from her, unable to summon the nerve to face her directly.

"Are you sure you're all right?" she asked gently, this time in all seriousness.

"Hmm," he responded. "My head's just been here and there."

The conversation ceased, leaving Harry with his thoughts for a few seconds before she spoke again.

"It's getting late," she informed him with a soft voice that he could have sworn was laced with warm affection. "Shall we head back?"

"Yeah," said Harry, finally willing himself to look into Ginny's eyes. "Let's head back."

.

***


End file.
